Your Guardian Angel (A Daryl Dixon Story)

Chapter Eight

Chapter 8

“I’m not sure this was the best idea,” Daryl said as he and Brielle walked slowly towards the river. Sam was trotting ahead of them.

“Daryl, I feel disgusting and I want to utilize the river before we head to Terminus. Who knows when the next time will be when we’ll have an opportunity like this,” she said sounding winded.

“We should have drove, though. You are still pretty weak,” he said hating that she talked him into this.

“Nonsense. This is good for me,” she said trying to catch her breath.

Daryl knew she was being stubborn and he just let her do so. Hopefully they wouldn't run into any trouble.

Daryl grabbed Brielle’s forearm and helped her down the bank of the river. Sam had already jumped in and started swimming around. Daryl scanned the area quickly before setting Brielle’s bag down.

“I’ll be right over there if you need anything,” he said looking down at Brielle who was now sitting on the bank.

She looked up at him and nodded. He nodded back and walked to the other side of the bridge to give Brielle her privacy.

It had been a day since they kissed. They didn't really talk about it. There had been other forms of caring expressions shown towards each other; a brush of the arm, a hand to the small of a back, a hand in a hand. Brielle blushed every time Daryl touched her with care and Daryl had noticed each time that her arm showed goosebumps with each touch. It made his heart race knowing that he, of all people, had that effect on her.

Brielle slowly got undressed and dove into the water. The water was exhilarating. It gave Brielle the energy she was hoping to gain back. She washed her hair and stole glances over at Daryl who was doing the same. She noticed he smiled at her and she smiled back. She dunked her head under the water to wash out the soap. When she came back up, Sam was swimming circles around her and she smiled. She swam back to shore after washing up and began to get dressed. She looked over towards where Daryl was, but didn’t see him anywhere. She shrugged and figured he was getting dressed.

Once Brielle was dressed, she waited for Daryl as she watched Sam continue to swim. She wrapped her arms around her legs and rested her head on her knees. She was extremely tired now.

Brielle heard a twig snap behind her and she spun around quickly. She let out a sigh of relief when she saw it was Daryl walking towards her. He had a small handful of lilies in his hand. Brielle gave him a sideways smile.

“I thought you’d like these,” he said handing her the flowers.

“Did I tell you lilies were my favorite flower?” she asked accepting his gift.

“You mentioned something like that before,” he said quietly.

“Thanks,” she said looking down and blushing again.

“Let’s get you back,” he said helping her off the ground.

“Sam, come,” Daryl said and Sam started to swim towards the shore. Brielle loved that her dog obeyed Daryl so well and that Daryl was accepting of the dog. She wasn't sure many people would believe he’d be an asset during the apocalypse, but he really was.

Daryl slung Brielle’s bag over his shoulder and absentmindedly grabbed her arm to help her up the bank of the river. Once they got to the top, his hand slid down her arm and landed comfortably at her hand. Brielle smiled and looked up at Daryl.

“Feel better?” he asked.

“Much. Thank you,” she said smiling.

They slowly walked back to the house and Brielle started to hum. Daryl smiled to himself. It had been several days since he heard her hum and he felt like she was getting back to her old self again. It made him feel comforted.